Everyone goes through their day to day lives living under the rules of the man on top. Everyone is part of what seems to be an institution, run by a man, or woman. Whether it be school, the office, or even one's own home, one is surrounded by institutions through out their lives. What is even scarier than the institution itself, is the ones who mindlessly follow the institutionalized way of thinking. So do all people choose to keep their mouths shut and follow the crowd? No.
McMurphy was put into a "nut house" due to the fact that while on trial he was thought to have been criminally insane, so he went to have tests done on him. While staying at the insane "institution" he shows the patients that just because they are told they have a problem, just because they are told they are insane, does not mean that they are. He shows them that they can't sit around and let other people live their lives for them. This is not only a realization for the characters in the film, but also for the viewers of the movie.
Walking down the halls of a high school corridor the student is taught to walk, not run, to be respectful to all elders, including their fellow students. A high school student is given a due date for a project and they either do it and get rewarded or don't and get in trouble. The simple citizen has to park their car in order to cruise the town by foot so they park by the meter. The citizen either puts the quarter in and legally parks in the spot, or doesn't and gets a ticket from the meter police. No matter where one walks, eats, sleeps, or breathes they are doing it the way they have always been taught by the institution everyone likes to call society.
Personally this movie effected me because I have always believed in the institutive view on life, and the movie hits the nail on the head. It, of course, is very sad but true. Nicholson plays McMurphy so well and so believable that I almost felt as though I knew him as a person, and grew to love him as a character. McMurphy of course had his flaws but that is what made him the loving character he grew to be.
In the end you see, all the world is a stage, and everyone has their part. Some people play the leading role, where as others are simply their to play up the lead. Which are you? That decision is yours, and depends on whether you choose to sit back and allow life to just happen, or take charge and live it. Be the lead, not the supporter.